The Hulse Family

I have debated for over a year about starting a blog. I even created a blog and deleted it (twice). There are too many freaks out there if you know what I mean. Anyway, I guess I am finally giving in to peer pressure. You know who you are! I guess what finally did it was preparing to send out a mass email to all my family and friends with another update. Everyone gets upset with me if I don't tell them exciting news FIRST! I just can't figure our how to make each person I love the first one I tell when something exciting (or terrible) happens. So, here we go! First, meet my family.

Johnny - the love of my life. He is really amazing. When I say amazing I mean A*M*A*Z*I*N*G! First of all he is so darn H-O-T. Those dimples! **swoon**. Second, he does house work (without being asked). That includes folding the laundry, cleaning the floors (he has his own mop because he doesn't like mine), loading and unloading the dishwasher, and last week he even dusted the fan in the kitchen. On Labor Day he cleaned the bathrooms. When I am sick he makes me soup or brushes my hair. More importantly he is a wonderful man and an awesome father. Never once has he been too tired to play with our boys when he comes home from work. Never once has he brushed off his responsibilities to be the Priesthood leader in our family. I am learning to appreciate that particular quality more every day. There is so much to say about Johnny, but the greatest compliment I have ever heard anyone say about him is that he is genuine. He loves people and wants to help them, without any underlying benefit to himself. He is just genuine. Other than all the gushy stuff his friends will be sick over he loves basketball, listens to sports radio constantly, and sings in the shower. He dances like a mad man and his nicknames include White Chocolate, Cat Fish, Labudu (or something like that), and a few thousand others. Johnny is the 4th of 8 children, 2 girls, 6 boys. They are each unique and I couldn't have married into a more welcoming family. Besides Johnny's direct family he also came with a few sets of surrogate parents and some extremely close friends. We consider each of them family.

Daniel - 2 1/2 years old - There is just so much to say about Daniel. He is our miracle baby. After 2 years of fertility garbage we were told we could not have children without IVF. What do you know? Hundreds of prayers and no meds - the next month we became prego. He is so smart, talks a ton and is learning to swim without his floaties. He loves swimming, swinging, riding the carousel at the mall and playing chase with mom or dad. He says the funniest things and has a purely mischievous look when he is trying to get away with something (I guess that would be all the time). He keeps me on my toes. He was a climber from the start and has never stopped despite my proclamation that my children would never be allowed to walk on the furniture. He has 100% my temper and 100% Johnny's compassion...plus Johnny's knack for getting into trouble. His mom says Daniel is just like Johnny was. Daniel is obsessed with construction trucks, firefighters, police men, and super heroes. He sleeps with his Batman shoes (or did until I took them away for hitting his brother). The only time he stops moving is when he is asleep...but even then it is constant tossing and stretching. Recently he has been dreaming of dinosaurs and lightning. Daniel changes clothes as often as he can. He would wear PJs all day if I would let him. Just in the past few months he has decided to be Mr. Independent. I can no longer help him get dressed or put his shoes on. He wants to open doors by himself and climb in and out of the car on his own. Daniel is one of a kind and I love him so much. Our family would not be complete without him.

Jaxon 14 mo. - My baby, my baby. This past year with Jaxon just flew by. He was so little for so long, then quite rapidly doubled in size. He is a mini Johnny both in looks and temperament. He has beautiful blond hair, blue eyes and dimples that are going to get him into trouble some day...just like his dad. Jaxon came into this world in a rush, he was our surprise baby. Everything with him is a surprises I guess, the pregnancy (when Daniel was only 9 months old), his birth (7 minutes from sign in to delivery at the hospital), his teeth (from 8 to 16 in a matter of a few weeks), he just doesn't do anything at a steady pace. He even eats like there is no tomorrow. Jaxon is reserved, he really makes you work for a laugh. Oh, but when you get him going it is sweet music. He loves to climb just like Daniel (guess who taught him). Every time I turn around he is climbing onto the kitchen table, trying to open the oven (thank goodness for oven locks), getting into mom's shower, eating dog food, and shutting doors. He loves to play chase and is the greatest sleeper. He will take a solid 3 hour nap every day. What more could a mother ask for? Jaxon was so sick for a long time. He was failure to thrive, only 13 pounds at over 6 months old. After a week in the hospital and no answers he had an endoscopy. The test came back positive for Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE). Basically he is allergic to the protein in food. All he can eat to date is his medicated formula, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, organic green beans, organic turkey, and purple grapes (yeah for grapes). We food trial one new food every month. If he fails we have to wait until he stops vomiting, having rashes, crying all night long, etc. Then we try again. He has reacted to rice, dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, oats, corn, grape juice, apples, pears, and artificial coloring. This could change as he grows, but for now he eats mostly sweet potatoes. I want to raise Jaxon to live a full life in spite of his condition. I never want him to be defined by EE. It will be a hard road for all of us, but nothing Jaxon or our family can't handle.

ME (Melody) - What is there to say about me? I have recently fallen in love with step aerobics, I love to read (don't give me a book or I will be unresponsive for a few days), I love crafty things but I am impatient so I have a lot of unfinished projects. I love all kinds of music. My favorite color changes daily between blue, green, red, pink, purple, etc. I just can't decide. I hate sweeping and moping, so it is a good thing my husband is so amazing. I love nap time...when both kids are asleep at the same time. Is there anything more perfect than sleeping babies and a peaceful home? I am not sure how many kids I want, I love being pregnant and I have easy pregnancies (except for my numb arm, but I get used to that after a few months), but I get sad every time I think about not being pregnant again. It is just so wonderful to feel a little person moving inside of you. Daniel used to punch me over and over in the same spot at the same time every night, it felt like little flicks. I loved just having him there. Jaxon always did more of the kick and roll routine, just like he does now. I used to play the French Horn. I want to start playing again. I love movies but never have a chance to go to a theatre. I would rather play board games. Before Johnny and I had children we would settle disputes with a game of battleship or divide chores by who won the most recent Rummy game during dinner. "Sorry" was part of our Sunday afternoon routine. I have two of the best parents in the world and two wonderful sisters. All three of us girls are quite different but we are great friends (now that our adolescence is past). I talk about my family all the time, people probably get tired of it, but they are everything to me and people generally talk about what they value. I value my family.